More stores to kickstart Black Friday with Thanksgiving openings

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Target Corp and Toys R Us Inc
are joining the U.S. retailers offering holiday
specials earlier, including on Thanksgiving Day, to kickstart
the biggest selling season of the year.

The stakes are high for U.S. retailers, which earn more than
a third of their annual sales in the holiday season.
Traditionally, they have waited until Black Friday, the day
after the U.S. Thanksgiving, to make their big end-of-the-year
push.

That is changing as retailers try to get shoppers into their
stores before their rivals do, making Thanksgiving Day about
more than eating turkey and watching football.

"The retail environment is always competitive - and most
especially during the holiday season," said Troy Rice, executive
vice president of stores and services at Toys R Us.

While retailers say people are eager to head to stores after
their Thanksgiving meals, some employees wish they could still
have the day off.

After Thanksgiving, which is a national holiday, many
businesses and schools are closed on Friday. The New York Stock
Exchange and Nasdaq are open on Friday but close earlier, at 1
p.m. ET (1800 GMT).

Target said it planned to open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving,
three hours earlier than last year, when it was closed on
Thanksgiving and opened at 12 a.m. on Friday.

Toys R Us, which opened its stores at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving
night last year, will open them an hour earlier this year.

"Customers repeatedly told us that they liked being able to
do their Black Friday shopping after they had finished their
turkey dinners, so they didn't have to spend all night outside
in line and could sleep in on Friday," Rice told Reuters.

Several petitions have been created on website Change.org
suggesting that chains keep their doors shut on Thanksgiving.
One petition from a Target employee who wanted the chain to
remain closed on the holiday and avoid "Thanksgiving creep" had
more than 148,000 supporters by Monday morning.

Target said that, anecdotally, many of its employees get
excited about being in the store for Black Friday. It said it
aimed to come up with staffing schedules that would meet the
needs of workers and customers on Thanksgiving.

Gap Inc will open more than 1,100 of its U.S. stores
across its Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains on
Thanksgiving, up from nearly 1,000 locations in 2011.

"There is a demand to have access to our stores on
Thanksgiving Day," said Tom Sands, executive vice president of
Old Navy's U.S. unit. "That demand was probably there last year.
The additional stores opening this year is a response to that."

Old Navy plans to open about 780 shops on Thanksgiving this
year, up from about 750 last year, Sands said.

J.C. Penney Co Inc, which is trying to reverse a
steep slide in sales while radically transforming its stores,
said it would open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

Most retailers will spread their offers out over several
hours to try to catch shoppers at various times, including the
wee hours of Friday morning. Toys R Us, for example, will have
one round of "door busters" at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving and
another at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest retailer, said last
week that its specials would start at 8 p.m. local time on
Thanksgiving, two hours earlier than last year.

Wal-Mart's Sam's Club chain stays closed on Thanksgiving, as
does rival warehouse club Costco Wholesale Corp. Both
will have online specials, however.

Sears Holdings Corp's Sears and Kmart stores will
be open on Thanksgiving Day, a decision the company said stemmed
in part from feedback from its "Shop Your Way" loyalty plan
members who wanted more flexible shopping times.

Last year, Kmart was open on Thanksgiving, and the Sears
department store chain was closed.

"We understand that many of our associates want to spend
time with their families on the holiday, so Sears and Kmart will
staff its stores with seasonal associates and those who have
volunteered to work on Thanksgiving Day," Chief Merchandising
Officer Ron Boire said earlier this month.

Best Buy Co Inc, Macy's Inc and Kohl's Corp
said their stores would remain closed on Thanksgiving
and open at 12 a.m. on Black Friday.